For those of you unfamiliar with Ayahuasca, let me first provide a brief description. Derived from a combination of a vine and leaf, it’s a medicine that has been used by Amazon tribes long before European conquests. It’s normally taken under the guidance of an experienced shaman during a traditional ceremony. People take Ayahuasca for many reasons, but mainly to bring the mind into an altered state so that information can be received directly from nature. It allows you to tap into unconscious knowledge and to gain a richer understanding of the world and oneself. We have several friends that have participated in Ayahuasca ceremonies in South America and each one talked of a “life changing experience”. But they also cautioned that it can be very intense and by no means recreational activity to be taken lightly. After researching in three countries, we finally found our shaman in Ecuador. Don Luis is a member of the Kichwa people and has trained to be a healer ever since he was chosen by his father at the age of eight. Now at 65, he’s had a life time of experience in ancient medicine.
We showed up in the jungle town of Tena and met the other participates of our ceremony. There was a American who arrived on his 37th birthday because his mother had died at 36 and he always thought the same would happen to him. He was hoping the medicine could give him insight on a life he never expected to have. A Dutch woman, who had participated in over thirty Ayahuasca ceremonies, said this was the only medicine that helped her overcome a traumatic experience. We were very happy the other participant were there to take this seriously. The ceremony began after dark in a ceremonial hut near the edge of Don Luis’ village. After the shaman blessed the medicine, we each drank and it took effect very quickly. At first, there was a lot of chaos, colors, images and thoughts that came and went in my mind faster than I could process. Don Luis then brought us up individually for a spiritual cleansing – spraying our hands and faces with an herb mixture, chanting, singing and playing instruments as he brushed us with leaves and sucking negative energy from the top of our heads. His voice seemed to envelope me and I walked away feeling light and free from the chaos from the initial effects. The rest of the night is very hard to explain. The easiest way to summarize the experience was that my ego was stripped away and I was able to see myself and everything else through clearer eyes, interspersed with chaotic thought which made those moments of clarity more profound.
After a day to reflect and recover, we went back for another ceremony. We were told that the knowledge you gain from Ayahuasca is cumulative and you learn something new every time you drink. Many people work with the medicine for years, or even their whole lives, building on the knowledge the medicine provides. Our second experience was very different – the medicine took two hours to take effect, and for me it was much more intense and lasted all night. This time, the shaman performed a healing on my bad knee which had been in constant pain even after 1800mg of ibuprofen per day. After the healing, I found myself sitting cross legged (something I hadn’t been able to do in ages) by the fire with no pain. As a self professed skeptic, I now have a different opinion about natural medicines and traditional healing particularly because my knee hasn’t bothered me since.
We can’t recommend Ayahuasca for everyone. It can’t say that it was an enjoyable experience, in fact at some points you just want it to be over, especially during the bouts of “purging”. For people who are open to the idea that there is more to learn than we can see everyday, and are willing to suffer a bit for that knowledge, it can be very rewarding. If you do want to experinience Ayahuasca we would suggest coming to South America, finding a legitimate shaman, and above all else going into it with an open mind.